Currently display blazing henna trails a week after applying full hennahead... Yesterday in a parking lot, I witnessed a fellow turn his head around so fast to see whatever color he thought it was he saw coming from my head and then begin chuckling, that whiplash might have been the result. Well, the hair color is just plain neon I tell ya! I've applied cassia since, and also used a clarifying treatment just to see.... blinding red glare still apparent!

So, I've been wondering about buxus.... Can I just apply by itself or with cassia rather than with henna? Is there anything I might do to ward off green? I guess if I could wake up tomorrow and have the color best suited for me, I'd opt for a honey brown/caramel Ok, ok, so I know now that with having applied a full henna head, that's not likely. So what is possible?

You mentioned the clarifying treatment in your last post and I want to make sure we're on the same page. When you say that, do you mean a clarifying shampoo? Cause that isnt what I meant when I suggested a hard water build up remover.

You can apply buxus on its own over the henna - either full strength or as a gloss and it will add brown to your color. It may be a bit green for the first 24 - 48 hours though, you just have to wait it out. You'd want to strand test the buxus on your current color, I'm not sure what you'd get.

You also have to remember that you only applied the henna for an hour, and that isnt a whole lot of time at all... and I keep thinking you did it as a gloss, yes? If so, how strong was it? How many tablespoons of paste went into your carrier (conditioner, yogurt, whatever)? What was your starting color? Was your hair bleached before?

If you want less orange and more red you're going to need to reapply for a longer time - 2 hours at the very least.

If your hair was bleached you need to know that its going to *stay* fairly orange no matter how many layers you apply. My hair was previously bleached and after about a half dozen or so applications, my color is only barely touching auburn on the length, but its still distinctly orange in most lighting.

I'm so glad that you've been willing to share... Actually I did a full henna head (100 grams) after dye release and left it on for an hour last Friday. 4 days later I did a cassia head (100 grams.) No bleach or artificial coloring on my hair--naturally brown with red and golden highlights. I fancy the red I see online with henna users and the shine. What surprised me is how much color I got, and how neonic! I'm nervous to add any more henna treatments as I imagine that my hair will turn burgundy / wine (over brown) fast. I'm of the opinion that the henna shade just doesn't go so terrifically with my skin tone, but didn't really see that until the application was done! I think the red is too harsh for my skin coloring.

As for the clarifying treatment I used Sally's Ion Crystal Clarifying treatment. It had most of the same ingredients as the Rainwash, and is available locally.

I'd really like a softer brown, some red is ok and golden too. What's done is done and I'd like to make the best of it, tho' not give myself too much angst!

Cassia isnt going to add any color to your hair - its dye is weak and yellow, it only shows up on white or platinum blond hair.

I very much doubt your hair is going to go burgundy with a second application for 2 hours, even if you were to use Celebration, and you can always strand test just to be sure. The color your describing is coming from the short time you did as henna tends to stay more orange when its left on for a short period of time, though I'm a little surprised it didnt darken more if your hair is brown. You can also mix in buxus with the henna to tone down the red tones and make it a lighter brown. A little henna with mostly buxus should do you fine, but again strand test.

Ion Crystals is good, thats a mineral build up remover. If it didnt do anything, then your water is fine.

Hair is now a deep auburn, inside it is pretty dark. Outside is a different story... sometimes there's cherry to be seen, and other times more auburn... in the sun there is a flourescent type quality going on, whether it be auburny, reddy, whatever-y!

Gotta wait 'til sometime next week to fool with color again... Just wondering, would you suggest adding some henna w/ the buxus, or do a henna for a longer while before buxus, or just buxus. or whaaa? Goal is to have a softer color if possible. I would love if a soft caramel brownie was ever a possibility.

Using buxus over your auburn will brown it up. How brown it gets depends on how much buxus uptake you get. If you do a strong gloss (3-4 Tbsp buxus per cup conditioner) for 30-60 minutes you'll probably get reddish brown. If you use full-strength buxus paste for that long you'll get pretty dark brown. I don't really think you can get caramel since you are already darker than that, and you can't go lighter with plant dyes. Cassia won't give you a lighter result than you'd get with a gloss.

Gotta pretty busy weekend, so won't be playin' with hair color for a little while. Maybe that's good... give it all a wee rest! Wanna give the buxus a go, perhaps a little at a time, so as to not go overboard with the brown, and for godsakes, not green!